Jagdeo appeals default libel judgement

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo has moved to set aside a default libel judgement granted against him by High Court Judge Sandra Kurtzious.
In a Notice of Appeal filed on Monday at the Demerara Full Court, Jagdeo is not only challenging the Judge’s ruling, but is also seeking an urgent stay of its enforcement until the hearing and determination of his appeal.
Last Wednesday, Justice Kurtzious affirmed the default judgment she had initially rendered on March 11, after dismissing an application filed by Jagdeo to have it set aside.
Although she upheld the judgement, the Judge recalled her previous award for damages set at $20 million to former APNU/AFC Government Minister Annette Ferguson, who had filed the lawsuit against Jagdeo in January 2020.
Following the dismissal of his application, Jagdeo was ordered to pay $75,000 in court costs to Ferguson. The parties in the matter have been instructed to file submissions concerning the assessment of damages. The Judge will make an award on July 28.
Justice Kurtzious rendered the default judgment after Jagdeo’s lawyer at the time, Anil Nandlall, SC, now the Attorney General, failed to file a defence within the time prescribed in accordance with Part 12:01 (2) (d) of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).
Attorney-at-law Lyndon Amsterdam had filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ferguson, claiming that she had been defamed by Jagdeo, who had made certain statements questioning her acquisition of a house lot and the construction of her home at Eccles, East Bank Demerara.
Ferguson had also claimed that her reputation was tarnished by the statements Jagdeo had made while he was Leader of the Opposition.
Should the Full Court set aside the judgement, the Vice President then wants the court to grant an order allowing him leave to file a defence in the claim. Hoping to have the judgment set aside, Jagdeo’s lawyer, Devindra Kissoon, is contending that Justice Kurtzious erred in arriving at her decision.
Jagdeo contends that the Judge erred in law and in fact when she found that he had no prospect of defending the claim. He similarly argues that she erred and misdirected herself in law by entering a default judgment against him without considering all of the grounds of his defence, which were only recently filed. Arguing again that the Judge had erred and misdirected herself in law, Jagdeo pointed out that Justice Kurtzious had attempted to assess the evidence and conduct a mini-trial, as opposed to merely finding that he had a real prospect of success, overlooking and failing to assess the facts averred in his pleadings, which would be proved at trial.
Having examined the statements Jagdeo had made about Ferguson, Justice Kurtzious underscored that they were very serious allegations, as they suggested she was corrupt and involved in misappropriation. In that regard, the Judge said the defences relied on by him could not stand.
The High Court Judge also found that he failed to disclose the source of the information he disseminated.
But Jagdeo maintains that “The learned trial Judge erred in law and in fact by misconstruing and misapplying the law surrounding the defences of fair comment and qualified privilege.”
Moreover, Jagdeo contends that the Judge erred in law and in fact by finding that the explanation proffered by him for failure to file the defence was not good and substantial.
His counsel had previously submitted that his client had a good reason for failing to file a defence. The lawyer had, among other things, deposed that this was as a result of Jagdeo’s then lawyer, Anil Nandlall, now the Attorney General, being preoccupied, having been responsible for a large part of the PPP/C’s March 2020 national elections campaign.
Besides this, Kissoon had also submitted that Nandlall was also extensively and exclusively engaged in matters relating to elections, including acting as lead counsel for Jagdeo in election-related litigation, as well as matters involving a recount of votes.
But although the reasons for the non-filing of a defence proffered by Jagdeo were numerous, Justice Kurtzious held, “They left the court unconvinced as to their accuracy and reasonableness.”
According to the High Court Judge, Jagdeo’s claim that his failure to file a defence was as a result of the courts not sitting for most of 2020 “is incorrect, to say the least. “The court was never closed totally to the public…” She said that the courts were working under COVID-19 practice directions that were disseminated to practising lawyers by the Bar Association and published in the Official Gazette. (G1)